World Cup Day 10: Open Thread

World Cup day nine was not a good one for fans of the Azzurri, as the Italians put on a putrid display in their 1-0 loss to Costa Rica. Putrid is putting it nicely; they were utter shit, lacking cohesion, creativity and a simple plan of attack. In some sense, statistically speaking anyways, it was the same scenario we saw when Roma dropped points to lesser Serie A sides; Italy, despite keeping an overwhelming amount of possession and out passing their opponents, simply couldn't capitalize on the few chances they created. For a more nuanced review, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Conor Dawley from our Napoli site, who somehow succinctly wrapped up that shitshow.

Anyway, we'll move onto today's action, which features Lionel Messi, Thomas Müller and our very own Miralem Pjanic.

The Matches

Last Time Out

Lionel Messi and the rest of the Albiceleste proved just a bit too much for Miralem Pjanic and Bosnia-Herzegovina, downing the World Cup debutants 2-1 last week. Despite the scoreline, Pjanic was masterful for the Dragons in midfield, providing the same steadying hand we've seen week-in-week-out in Roma. Thank god he signed that extension, because he may very well emerge as one of the stars of this tournament.

Germany absolutely waxed Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal last week, thanks in no small part to Müller's hat trick. Müller's goals, his sixth, seventh and eighth in World Cup play, already have many speculating that he, and not national teammate Miroslav Klose, will be the one to topple Ronaldo (the less handsome one) atop the all-time World Cup scoring ladder. Müller, remember, is only 24-years-old and will conceivably have three more cracks at it. Pretty remarkable...where can we find one of those?

Ghana was edged out by the United States last week, thanks to a late header, while Nigeria was involved in the World Cup's most dreary affair thus far, a 0-0 draw against Iran.

Keep an Eye On

Well, how about Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero cutting up an overmatched Iranian defense for starters? If that's not enough to whet your football appetite, the day's second match figures to be the best, as Ghana will be eager to gain ground on the US in Group G, while the Germans will look to book their ticket to the knockout stages.

Last, but certainly not least, is Roma's midfielder Miralem Pjanic. BIH came close to taking a point from Argentina but ultimately came up short, but they're still very much in the hunt for the knockout stages. If the Dragons have any hope of advancing, however, they will need better performances from anyone not named Pjanic, as their other marquee name, Eden Dzeko, was less than impressive last week.

Where to Watch

The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network has got you Americanos covered for today's action. ESPN covers sports around the clock, which many media experts thought was a cultural and financial disaster once upon a time.

Other than that, head on over to LiveSoccerTV for your non-Disney viewing options.